Hezbollah to enter 'new phase of escalation' against Israel following Sinwar's death

Hezbollah on Friday said it will "move to a new and escalating phase with Israel", following the killing of Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader, in the Gaza Strip on Thursday by the Israeli military.

The Lebanese group, who did not mention Sinwar by name in their statement, said discussions on their new approach will take place in "the coming days" as it continues to engage in combat with Israeli troops amid an invasion of Lebanon.

It said the group had confronted Israeli forces in the vicinity and inside some Lebanese villages, including Qaouzah and Rab Thalatheen, by targeting the paths of progress, and "luring these forces into some advanced ambushes inside some border villages".

"Hezbollah continues to confront the Israeli aggression on Lebanon, inflicting significant losses on the Israeli army in terms of personnel and equipment, including both officers and soldiers, across all engagement fronts from the forward lines in southern Lebanon to positions deep within occupied Palestine."

The group said it has already introduced new weapons to its arsenal, adding that its fighters have used new types of precision-guided missiles and explosive drones for the first time.

Hezbollah claimed to have inflicted heavy losses on Israeli forces - having killed at least 55 soldiers - amid the ongoing aggression against Lebanon, with at least 10 dead in recent days. Israeli media on Thursday identified at least five of those killed.

"Hundreds of Islamic resistance fighters are fully prepared to confront any Israeli ground incursions toward the villages of southern Lebanon," Hezbollah added.

Israel launched several strikes targeting southern Lebanon on Friday morning, killing at least four people in the village of Doueir, in the Nabatieh district. The strike targeted a house where four bodies have been now retrieved.

Israel hit the villages of Ansar, Maroun al-Ras and Yaroun - also in the same district.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah said that it launched "a large salvo of rockets" on Zvulun, located east of Haifa in northern Israel, L’Orient Today reported, in an apparent retaliation for Israeli bombing. 

Meanwhile, the Israeli army said on Monday it had killed Hezbollah commander Mohammed Hussein Rammal in an airstrike in Taybeh, southern Lebanon and destroyed several rocket launchers.

It also claimed to have uncovered weapons belonging to Hezbollah, including sniper rifles and anti-tank missile launchers.

Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said that 45 people were killed and 179 injured due to Israeli aggression across the country in the last 24 hours, on Thursday.

At least 2,412 people have been killed since October last year in Lebanon, with the death toll increasing dramatically after Israel stepped up its attacks on the country in late September.